Many concerned seafood growers and dealers become alarmed regarding a virus and/or bacteria exclusion on their general liability insurance policy. Depending upon its wording, their protection for foodborne illness may range from none up to fully covered. Let me provide two examples.
Total Exclusion
The following is an excerpt from an exclusion on a general liability policy with most of the legalese removed for clarity:
“This insurance does not apply to… bodily injury… for the… ingestion of… bacteria that are… contained in a good or product…”
This is obviously NOT an exclusion a grower or dealer wants on their insurance policy.
Limited Exclusion
On the other hand, some exclusions are much more palatable. These may read just like the one above, but have the following sentence added:
“This exclusion does not apply to any… bacteria that are… contained in a good or product intended for bodily consumption.”
Did you catch that? The exclusion added an exclusion. The same double-negative that would win red-inked markups on a grammar-school essay qualifies you to write insurance policies. However confusing this language may be, it adds coverage back to the policy for bacteria in your food products.
Plot Twist
The irony here is that we found both of these exclusions on the same policy! The lesson is to review your insurance. Not comfortable doing that? Give us a opens in a new windowcall and opens in a new windowemail/fax us a copy of your policy; we’ll be happy to review it with you. If you are already one of our clients, let us know your concerns.
Depending upon the state in which you operate, our insurance companies can either remove the virus/bacteria exclusion altogether, or use the proper one that allows coverage.
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